Page One

To the Editor: 

This November, AC Transit will have a new parcel tax on the ballot. Bus fares are going up too. Increased bus fares could be a great source of revenue, especially if the down economy encouraged more transit use. However, this doesn’t seem to be the case. People are spending less, but this does not affect transportation choices very much. Even in this down economy, too many people are still choosing to drive, rather than ride a bus. The personal car, once purchased, is not perceived as an expense – but bus fare sure is. 

AC Transit’s new parcel tax may not pass. Property owners make up most of the drivers filling our streets with vehicles three-quarters empty. Nothing effective is being done to change their habits, to turn more of them into bus riders, more inclined toward the new tax. 

If the parcel tax does not pass, and the weak economy continues to hold down Measure B sales tax revenue, we are going to lose a major part of our bus service. I think it comes down to “use it or lose it”. 

Steve Geller 

Berkeley